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VALLKY OF ACHOR A DOOR OF HOPE; 



GRAND ISSUES OF THE WAR. 



A DISCOURSE. 



DKUVERKD ON 



) THANKSGIVING DAY, NOV. 26, 1863. 



HENRY CLAY FISH, D.D., 

1* a * t o k or First Baptist Church. Newark, S . J . 



siiKI/noN <& CO., 335 BROADWAY. 
1 8 6 8. 









'!' II E 



VALLEY OF ACHOR A DOOR OF EOPE; 



GRAND ISSUES OF THE WAR. 



A DISCOURSE. 



I1EI.1VERED ON 



TEIANKSGIVING DAY, NOV. 26, 1863. 



HENRY CLAY FISH, D.D., 

H I 7 

Pastob of Pibst Baptist Church, Nbwabk, N. j. 



?kto-j>vh: 

SHELDON & CO., 33S BROADWAY. 

1 8 6 8 . 



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■ 3 

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Ihrr' - — ■ 
tf«Bt» lies. Hlbfc. 860 



Note. — This discourse was repeated Sabbath evening, Novem- 
ber 29th, in the presence of an audience numbering over two 
thousand persons, when a copy was requested for publication. 



DISCOURSE 



IIoska 2 : 15. 
"And I will give her the valley of Achor for a door of hope." 

The valley of Achor was some ten miles north of 
Jerusalem, and not far from Bethel, the place of Ja- 
cob's vision. It was called Achor from the word Achan 
or Aclt(i>\ which was applied to it from an incident in 
the travels of the Israelites, recorded in the seventh of 
Joshua. Here it was that Achan sinned in taking the 
Babylonish garment, and the shekels of silver and the 
wedge of gold among the spoils of the enemy, which 
were denominated accursed things — and for this impi- 
ety he was stoned with stones, and then burnt to ashes, 
after which the wrath of (rod was appeased. This 
valley was called Achar or Achor, from the name of 
this man, Achan. And the word Achan itself means 
troubleTj so that the valley was known for many gene- 
rations, as the v alle>j of trouhle. Hence the term came 
to be used to describe any position of special trial or 
trouble, lie who was in some terrible extremity, was 
spoken of as being m the vaUey of AcJ/<>/: 

And so it Mas that seven hundred years later than 
the. occurrence here referred to, we bear the prophet 
Hosea, in our text, using tliis same figurative expres- 
sion. He is announcing God's reconciliation with his 



■i THE VALLEY OF ACHOB A DOOR OF HOPE; 

erring people, ami the mercies which Ik- would surely 
bestow, after the sore discipline for fcheirsins. " I will 
Bpeak comfortably unto her, and I will give her vine- 
yards from thence,and*A< valley of Achor for a door of 
hope, and she shall sing there as in the days of her 
youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the 
land of Egypt." 

The idea of the prophet is this: Israel found deliv- 
erance of «dd, in that very valley of trouble. There 
the fierce anger of God was turned away, and his smiles 
were vouchsafed, and her songs of rejoicing were heard. 
And now am I about to repeal the deliverance. Yon 
are brought low, but your very place of trouble, your 
vattt y of Achor, shall 1 >e a door of hope. " And I will 
give her the valley of Achor for a door of hope, and she 
shall sing there, as in the days of her youth." 

And herein is ^n a law of the divine economy. It 
seems a principle from which God does not often' devi- 
ate, that the door of hope should be in the vallej of 
Achor:— thai seasons of trouble should precede* the 
richesl experience of his goodness. 

I Proceed with me while I endeavor, first, to es- 

TABLISB AM) DLLT7STRATE THIS PRINCIPLE. 

And to begin; do we not gather an intimation of 
such a divine plan in the work of creation? In its ori- 
ginal state, our earth was without form ami void, and 
darhness was upon Hie face of the deep. And the re- 
cord of its reconstruction, again ami again repeated, 
inns thus: "and the evening and the morning were 
lll( ' (particular) day." Historically, the evening, the 
night, came first. The day was composed of darkness 
and light, hut the darhness preceded the light. Who 
shall say ihat there was not, in this natural phenome- 
non} ;t hinl of tin- f.ict under consideration? And the 
mos1 extended and minute examination will show how 



OR, THE GRAND ISSUES OF THE WAR. g 

widely and profoundly this fact applies to the moral 

world. 

You may divide the past centuries into epochs, and 
write concerning them as of the original epochs of cre- 
ation, "and the evening and the morning were the 
(new) day." They will be seen to be made up of pe- 
riods of darkness and of light — the darkness, however, 
always going before and preparing for the light. The 
history of man really begins in his apostasy. It was 
but a -learn of sunshine that fell on his forehead in 
Paradise, when he was enveloped in the darkness and 
blindness of sin, the emerging from which really ma] 
his history. At this low point, after the fall, in the 
gulf of deep distress, the social life of man began to im- 
prove, and it has been making steady advances ever 
since. It was in this valley of troubl* that the coming 
Messiah was first revealed. And what a door of hope 
was there opened in those words, -The seed of the 
woman shall bruise the serpent's head." From that 
time forward, whenever darkness came on, it was bul 
the beginning of a new day, and each new day (like 
those in Genesis) was in advance of the day that pre- 
ceded it. The night was the period of gestation, of 

paration. Forms of civilization decayed, in long 
succession, but each worn-out form carried in its bosom 
elements which gave birth to a new and more per- 
fect form. Great and mighty institutions gave way to 
either time, or revolution, or foreign invasion, bul the 
rms of a new life were always existing in each de- 
caying institution, and the period of decline for one 
people or age was a period of purifying process or prep- 
aration for that age or people thai should succeed it. 

Thus Central India, the earliest of the historical na 
tions, began in obscurity, reached a high position, then 
declined. Bui even this our age is enriched by it- old 



G THE VALLEY OF ACIIOll A DOOR OF HOPE; 

Sanscrit tongue and many elements of its philosophy, 
Egypt emerged from darkness into light, and then its 
sun set ; but not until it had thrust forward into the 
Judaic and otlicr nations its real acquisitions, there to 
ive a higher development. The same may be said 
of Assyria, and each of the old Eastern nations. 
So of Greece and Rome in the West. From small be- 
ginnings, and through innumerable difficulties, they 
forced their way up to greatness; "but though their 
philosophy and theology had in them the seeds of 
death, and so decayed, yet how greatly, through their 
laws, and literature, and arts, have they contributed 
to prepare the world for its present condition. 

In how low a vale of trouble, too, did the Israelitish 
nation begin its career — in the bondage of Egypt and 
in the discipline of the wilderness. And though it 
vanished away, yet it was but to give room to the 
Christian civilization that was to follow. I might also 
point you to the old ancestral peoples of Europe, from 
-whom we and the several now powerful nations have 
sprung, and show how they struggled into being, and 
how, too, their death was our life. Read d'Aubigne^s 
last work and Alison's Europe, and behold the upturn- 
ing of the uationsthat ended in the greai Reformation. 
Follow the graphic pen of Macaulay, and behold the 
series of English revolutions, from the Long Parliament 
to tit!' settlement of William and Mary on the tin-one, 
and see how the Hill of Rights and other reforms 
were born. Ireland was in rebellion ; Scotland in 
rebellion ; powerful continental combinations were 
counter-working the liberties of England; the finances 
were in a deplorable condition ; the court and army 
were demoralized; vindictive parties were plotting 
the ruin of both church and state; and yet, out of 



OR, THE GRAND ISSUES OF THE WAR. 7 

these ruinous complications arose British power in all 
its subsequent magnificence. 

And how true this was of the immediate founders of 
this republic, we all well know. They too passed 
through the Red Sea of suffering and the desert of trial, 
and then, and not before, came into their Canaan. And 
so all along the track of time have the valleys ofA.chor 
been turned into doors of hope. There is not a nation 
now advanced in the world's civilization, that has not 
won its place by long years of severe and perhaps ter- 
rific effort. 

And the same is true of the religious progress of the 
world. The wickedness of the antediluvians became 
great, and they were cut oft'; but the flood became a 
door of hope — a God-fearing people springing up in 
the land. The cities of the plain rioted in sensuality, 
and they were burned up; but their destruction ar- 
rested the general decay. The wars and tumults of 
Samuel's and David's time ushered in the meridian 
splendor of Solomon's reign. The rending of Israel 
into two parts hastened the extermination of idolatry. 
How terrible the night in which the old dispensation 
closed! — no voice of prophet breaking its gloom for 
four hundred years, and but here and there one "wait- 
ing for the consolation of Esrael." Upon that night 
arose the Star of Bethlehem! What an Achor, what 
a place of trouble, the land of Judea then ! What a 
door of hope, in David's Son, was there opened to a 
world! And a little later, what do we Bee? The 
heaviest troubles gathering npon the infant Chinch. 
Peter denies his Lord. Judas betrays him. The dis- 
ciples are bewildered, and scattered as sheep without a 
shepherd; for the --word has smitten thai Shepherd, 
and he is now dead, and Lurid ! What blackness of 

darkness! Not a streak of day! Inn. again, what do 



b THE VALLEY OF AC1IOR A DOOll OF HOPE; 

we see ? The clayeyseals <>f the tomb cracking and 
crumbling asunder. The stone receding. The sleeper 
awaking. The news spreading. The enemies con- 
Pounded. The Messiahship admitted. The Saviour 
going up in clouds. The J I < > 1 \ Spirit coming down 
in torrents of power. Banners of the Cross unfurled. 
The nations permeated with the Gospel. Oh ! what 
an Achor, the place of crucifixion ! Oh! what a door 
of hope! Remember, too, how Zion languished in the 
middle ages, and how this depression was succeeded by 
I he glorious Reformation. 

Observe in all this, how true it is that seasons of 
trouble usually precede and prepare the way for the 
richest experience of God's goodness; not because 
these depressions in themselves originate the better 
state, (for this the)" could not do,) Imt because God 
overrules evils, and out of them educes good; and be- 
cause vigor is the child only of struggle. 

We consider this law, then, a. clearly established one. 

"Not fust the bright, and after that the dark ; 
lint first the dark, and after that the bright ; 
First the thick cloud, ami then the rainbow's arc; 
First the dark grave, and then the resurrection light. 

'"Tis first the night— stern night of storm and war, 
Long night of heavy clouds and vailed skies; 
Then the fair sparkle of the morning Star, 
That bids the saint awake and day arise.'' 

IT. I proceed now to apply this law to on: 

PRESENT NATIONAL CONDITION. 

I ask you to observe, for our instruction and en- 
couragement, that the Valley of Achor where Ave now 
are, is becoming to us a door of hope. I shall speak 
of only two particulars. 

1. In this vale of difficulty and sorrow, we arc /■<■ 
ering "in- Jn.st manhood. 

"dr. Beecher Baid, with truth, in one of those ad- 



OR, THE GRAND ISSUES OF THE WAB. 

dresses of his in England, which have ;it the same 
time reflected honor upon himself and so benefited 
our country's cause as to lay us under a Lasting debl 
<>f gratitude, that the most valuable possession of a 
people was its manhood. We might Lose our harvests, 
<>ur houses, almost any possession, and recover them; 
but our manliness gone, all was gone. The first and 
highest quality of true manhood is more easily appre- 
ciated than denned. It is that something which the 
old Romans called VlE, (whence our rirfiir.) The 
Apostle Peter refers to it as one of the Christian 
-•races: "Add to your faith virtue" — not (as here 
meant) that outward conformity to God's law which 
makes an upright life; hut rather manly vigor, a cour- 
ageous tone of mind — -manliness, true manhood. We 
might call it force of character, boldness, firmness in 
whatever duty requires. Isaac Taylor paraphrases it as 
"nianly energy, or the constancy and courage of manly 
vigor." Dr. Schauffier, speaking of the Crimean cane 
paign, says the soldiers held on and took Sevastopol 
not by science, but by pluck; and that what we 
needed to take the strongholds of heathenism was 

• 

Christian pluck. General Havelock spoke of British 
pluck. Sir "Walter Scott speaks of a " want of pluck" 

as a sad defect in a man. The same idea is in the 
triplet : 

"Could'st thou not watch one hour? then sloop eno 
That sleep may hasten manhood, and sustain 
The faint, pale spirit with some muscul 

This "manhood" or "muscular stuff" or -pluck," is 
the virtue commended by Peter, and the precise quality 
to which I refer. It is a fine trait, which everyone 
admires. We see ii in Daniel, and the three worthies, 
whose answer to threats was : " We are not carefiil to 
answer thee, ( ) King, in this matter." And in Paul 



10 



THE VALLEY OF A.CHOB A DOOR OF nOPE ; 



and Silas, who would sooner listen to the clanking of 
their own chains than to the voice of seduction. And 
in the Huguenots and Scotch Covenanters, whose heroic 
daring in the right flashes out like brillianl orbs in ex- 
tended darkness. And in Savonarola, the Italian monk, 
who, when excommunicated by the Pope for his fidelity, 
weiii to the stake, saying: "Irom the Pope I appeal to 
the heavenly Pope, Christ Jesus." And in Luther, who, 
before the Court of the German empire, looked up 
calmly when his sentence was read, and replied: "Then 
God be my helper; for I can redact nothing." In such 
cases there was lofty courage from principle. There 
was a supreme regard for the right, and a determination 
to pursue it at all hazards. 

Now certainly this is the first and chief ingredient 
in true manhood. Indeed, without it men are not men. 
Without it, a nation is no nation. Sir William Jones's 
answer to the question, "What constitutes a state?" 
hits the case exactly: 

" Not high-raised battlement or labored mound ; 
Thick wall or moated gate ; 
Not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned ; 

Not hays and broad-armed ports, 

Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride; 

Not starred and span-led courts, 

Where low-browed baseness wafts perfume to pride. 

No : . ', w'l mini men, 

With powers as Car above dull brutes endued 

In forest, brake, or den, 
As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude • 

.Men who th< ir duties know, 
But know their rights, and knowing ',. jj, • 

Prevent the long-aimed blow, 
And crush the tyrant while tiny rend the chain: 

'/'//• v constitute a state." 

This trail especially the people of these States were 
fasl losing. It was far -one. Like an individual, a 
nation has a perception which it may sophisticate a 



OR, THE GRAND rSSUBS OF THE WAR. 11 

conscience which it may Biippress, a Belf-respeci which 

it may forfeit, a soul, a life, which it may lose. And it 
may pass out insensibly, oozing away imperceptibly. 
So it was with us. We had almost reached the point 
where we were ready to sell our birthright for a mess 
of pottage. We were engrossed in material pursuits. 
What we were after was to suck fatness out of OUT 
broad, deep soil, and our mechanic arts, and our world- 
wide commerce, and our positions of trust and honor, 
open to all, high or low, learned or illiterate, good 
or bad. 

The sacrifice of conscience and other high qualities, 
to gain these ends, we were not slow to make A 
gigantic power had reared itself upon the chains of un- 
righteousness, end was holding out in one hand gold 
and in the other office; and if these were to he perma- 
nently proffered and enjoyed, there must be homage, 
acquiescence. 

Mythology tells us that in the ancient days of Rome 
a chasm opened in the midst of the city, and stn 
were broken up, palaces toppled in the yawning 
gulf, and dwellings were swallowed in the ruin. The 
sages met and in council decided that by the offering 
of the most valuable things they possessed, the angrj 
gods would be appeased and Rome be saved. So " the 
people assembled, patrician and plebeian, nobleman and 
slave, bringing all precious jewels, rich garments, and 
whatever was most rare and costly, and casl fchem into 
the chasm : but still it opened insatiate, and fche fissures 
spread, and destruction seemed sure. Bui while still 
the terror-stricken multitude thronged the streets, there 
came to them, armed as one who goes to battle, riding 
a- one who rides to victory, the noblest of their pj 
cian sons, the very flower of their chivalry, and as the 
wondering crowd swayed and parted to make way, lie 



12 



THE VALLEY OF ACHOE A DOOR OF LI OPE • 



exclaimed: 'Manhood is the most valuable thing 
Rome possesses!' For an instant horse and rider 
hang in mid air, then down— crashing-^are lost, and 
the dreadful abyss closes up." And so would Ofe'ftlse 
god be appeased with nothing short of Manhood! 

And the "sages" advised the offering, and were quick 
to give the example. Hordes of politicians mighl be 
Been marked and ticketed, "For sale to the highest bid- 
der." Merchants and mechanics could not safely have 
opinions of their own, lest their customers should be 
offended, so they parted with them. Greed and selfish- 
ness were fast gaining ascendency over all ranks and 
classes. Love of freedom, love of country, the fear of 
God, honor, integrity, honesty, benevolence, the public 
good— these were overborne and forgotten in the mad 
pursuit of money or popularity. Gain dragged even 
the ark of God in its ox-cart, and made the very minis- 
isters of the sanctuary the echoes of them that hired 
them. And so the iron ear of our national Juggernaut 
rolled on, over the Bible, the Sabbath, the sanctuary, 
and eternal right and mercy and justice, until there 
was danger of such a general demoralization of the 
soul <»i* the nation, as should change us from the God- 
fearing, conscience-animated, sound-hearted people that 
our fathers were, into a race of moral pigmies, whose 
creed should be, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow 
lie." 

Already from this cause had we become the scorn of 
the civilized world. -They are rot (en before they are 
ripe," Baid a British reviewer of us, more in sorrow 
than in anger. And the good De Gasparin, who has 
bo ably written in our behalf, admits that for many 
years we -had been rapidly degenerating in the whole 
tone of our national life." 

!i is alarming to think how far this had gone. Our 



OR, THE GRAND [SSUES OF THE WAR. 13 

halls of legislation were the arena of braggarts and 
bullies and political hucksters and selfish squabbles, 
where great measures were scarcely discussed, and 
great minds felt themselves degraded. Not a few 
wen- tired even of our form of government, and began 
to think that Republicanism was a failure. A high 
authority declares that lie knew there were thousands, 
if not millions, who would have welcomed an Empe- 
ror of France or of Russia, if they could have been 
assured of stability in their business matters; and I 
suppose it to be a fact that at the close of Mr. 
Buchanan's administration, the mind of the North was 
subsiding into the conviction that it was not worth 
while to try to interpose any check to the ruinous 
course of events. Even in Boston were men heard 
to say, "No coercion, no coercion;" and it now seems 
clear that Lad the South managed their cause wise- 
ly, they would either have gained a recognition or 
revolutionized the country. 

So far had our manhood departed ! How had the 
gold become dim, and the fine gold changed ! 

But just here, in this our valley of Achor, was opei I 
a k> door of hope." In the providence of God things 
took such shape that we were shut up to civilized war- 
fare. The issue was clear and simple. Our enemies 
declared that the country must consent to be severed 
in twain, (to bleed to death,) or the government must 
be overthrown and destroyed. The stars and stripes 
are shot from the flag-staff of a, national fort, and the 
flag of rebellion flaunts defiance in its stead. The live 
-pot that was left in the Northern heart, throbs- 
With the thunder of guns and the gleam of bay- 
onets the inward lire kindles; and firsl in one sec- 
tion, thru in another, and then in another, i- heard the 



14 Till: VALLEY OF ACHOR A DOOli OF HOPE; 

cry : " In tlie name of our Grod we will set up our ban- 



ners ! " 

" Lay down the axe ; fling by the spade ; 

Leave in its track the toiling plough ; 
The rifle and the bayonet blade 

For anus like yours were fitter now; 
And let the hands that ply the pen 

Quit the light task, and learn to wield 
The horseman's crooked brand, and rein 

The charger on the battle-field. 

" Our country calls ; away ! away ! 

To where the blood-stream blots the green. 
Strike to defend the gentlest sway 

That Time in all its course has seen. 
See, from a thousand coverts — see ! 

Spring the armed foes that haunt her track ! 
They rush to smite her down, and we 

Must beat the banded traitors back !" 

The effect was electric. War is a great educator. 
Napoleon rightly said : " There are always ideas at the 
point of the bayonet." Florence Nightingale wrote to 
one of the British volunteer brigades : " One who lias 
seen more than any man what a horrible tiling war is, 
yet feels, more than any man, that the military spirit 
in a good cause — that of one's country — is the finest 
leaven which exists for the national spirit." And she 
-peaks of it as retempering a nation. There are multi- 
tudes who could never be rallied to the support of a 
government or any great cause, upon a question of 
right, who will yet he stirred by the bugle-blast of 
war; and once aroused they go on to a higher man- 
hood. The power to do and to suffer is developed in 
great national struggles. Men Learn the lessons of 
obedience to the "powers that be," and the subordi- 
nance of persona] advantage t<> the public good; fchej 
Learn to value those rights and privileges tor which they 
have poured out Mood and treasure; they learn to 
deny themselves, and to work for objects beyond them. 



OR, THE GRAND ISSUES OF THE WAR 15 

selves. Patriotism is thereby inflamed and heconies 
henceforth an inspiration; for some must give them- 
selves to the country's service, some their Bons and 
husbands, brothers and fathers; some their property, 
some their time, and all their prayers. 

No trifling thing, indeed, is it, that these Btirring 
events are instilling such qualities into this people, and 
kindling in their bosoms the same noble fires that 
burned in their honored sires. The influence is already 
seen, and will be more and more apparent. Already 
our merchants, by their sacrifices, have raised their lives 
to a higher Level of dignity : already the most frivolous 
of our young women have gained a deeper and nobler 
sense of their own worth by their voluntary Labors for 
the soldiers: and altogether we are certainly a more 
manly people than we were three years ago. We are 
more patriotic. That flag of country, how much 
dearer ! It is more to us now than a piece of striped 
and dotted bunting — a great deal more! It brings 
tears to the eyes to look upon it ! A\ T ho feels not, ton. 
that he is more of a man, and is not prouder to b 
called an American t We stand more erect ! We 
have done with base obsequiousness ! We have more 
faith, too, and more patience, and a sterner sense of 
right. We are more thoughtful and intelligent. The 
national mind is jostled and set a-^oins;. How many 
persons take a daily or semi-weekly paper now that 
took none before, and study the map, and keep posted 
as to all that pa<s r >, and talk Learnedly about men 
and measures and places a thousand miles away, and 
read long addresses and fine-spun diplomatic letters. 
and have even a sharp eye to see whal England, and 
Prance, and Russia are doing ! Besides, we are much 
Less trammelled bj party. And we have done with 
compromises, and abominate all half measures, and 



16 THE VALLEY OP ACHOB A DOOR OF HOPE : 

have made up our minds to risk life, property, any 
thmgth&t is called for, and to see the end of this 
struggle, and to show to the world that "there is sap 
ia the old tree yet," — that the pilgrim stock has not 
wholly degenerated:— and to prove thai we do prize 
courage and manliness and unblenching devotion to 
country, and humanity, and God, higher than mate- 
rial prosperity or an inglorious peace; and that we 
do know what it is to act from a calm and resolute 
sense of duty, the prime essential of manhood. 

Is not this war, then, an educator? Is it not the 
alembic from which we are emerging with nobler ener- 
gies and a higher life? I, for one, can not doubt it. 
I believe that the returning soldiers will Lave gained 
valuable experience, and will make better men and 
better Christians. I verily believe, (and for this I 
bless God every day,) that the people generally are 
passing through that transformation which Tennyson 
describes in the career of one of his individuals. We 
shall 

— "wake to the higher aims, 
Of a land that has lost for a little her lust of gold 
And love of a peace that was full of wrongs and shames — 
Horrible, hateful, monstrous, not to be told. 
Though many a light shall darken, and many shall weep 
For those that are crushed in the trash of jarring claims. 
Vet Cod's just doom shall be wreaked on a giant liar ; 
And many a darkness into the light shall leap 
And shine in the sudden making of splendid names, 
And noble thought be freer under the sun, 
And the heart of the people beat with one desire." 

2. In the valley of A.choTwe are recovering the jewel 
of the wo rltVs Fr< < dom. 

II- who supposes this war is to affect only this coun- 
try, has very narrow views of things. It is for al] time 
and for the whole race, 'flic Rappahannock is the river 
of the earth. Chattanooga is the fighting ground of (In- 



OR, THE GRAND ISSUES OF THE WAR. 17 

world. Battles here arc the world's battles. We are 

contending for ideas which are essential to liberty any- 
where; and there is not an oppressed being on the 
globe — oppressed by any species of usurpation — that 
has not an interest in this conflict. We arc watched 
of kings and peasants. Our free institutions — free 
schools, cheap government, voluntary religion, open 
ballot-box, — were before shaking the monarchies of the 
old world, and all eyes are now turned hither to see 
whether we succeed or fail, as involving their own des- 
tiny : — the king his crown, the peasant his liberty. 

Is there a spot on the globe where men are practi- 
cally free and equal, where they fully enjoy their heav- 
en-given rights, except in this country? England 
comes nearest to it; but in Great Britain the people 
are rather for the government than the government for 
the people. Koyalty, aristocracy, nobility, hereditary 
wealth and position — these things are of great mo- 
ment there ; and unless one can lay claim to some of 
them, he stands a poor chance to rise. The English 
poor, the laboring classes, have few rights and privi- 
leges ; they are little above the serfs of Russia. It is 
considered that they are born to this condition, and the 
laws of the realm place the power of government prin- 
cipally in the hands of the land-owners and property. 
holders, and nobly descended. In this country we hold 
that every man is nobly born ; that liberty in the high- 
est sense is his birthright ; that the poorest is entitled 
to just the same protection, just the same advantages 
of all kinds, as the wealthiest. There are here no pri 
vileged classes. One class is of right, in every possible 
respect, just as "privileged" as another. These an 
fundamental ideas in the structure of this govern 
incut. 



18 THE VALLEY OF ACnOR A DOOR OF HOPE; 

Now the oppressed of every realm know these are our 
peculiar ideas, and they yearn for their universality. 
They hope for the good time when they will be adopt- 
ed in their own countries, and many of them would 
gladly come here to have the advantage of them. And 
we have these ideas — mark it — as a sacred trust from 
God. We have no right to throw them away, nor to 
let them he wrested from us. We are the stewards of 
these gifts for earth '<? millions, the guardians and almo- 
ners of their rights, (now denied them to a greater or 
less extent,) and sacredly hound to bring them to their 
possession, as far as we may. Were we to allow them 
to he wrested from us, we were the most faithless of 
mortals ; and the down-trodden, whose voice we can not 
hear, would cry out in Heaven's ear against us! 

Freedom, then, in its highest sense, and widest sense, 
is at stake in this contest. Freedom for the enslaved 
blacks on our own soil is one of the things involved, 
and a very important one. Long enough has it been 
denied, and all true hearts rejoice that it is being 
granted to them, and also that by their splendid mil- 
itary bearings, and their self-help in various ways, they 
are at once justifying their claim to manhood and ac- 
quiring that discipline, and knowledge, and experience 
which will aid them greatly when thrown at length 
upon their own resources. Freedom for the " poor 
whites 1 ' 1 of the South is another thing involved, and a 
very important one. Their condition has been miser- 
aide indeed — in some respects more pitiable than that 
of the slaves. The planters, the slave-owners, the 
haughty monarchs of the soil, have domineered over 
them, and despised them, and well-nigh ground hu- 
manity out of them. They are interested in the issu< 
of the struggle. And then freedom for our brethren far 
away (as 1 have said,) is another tiling involved. For 



OR, THE GRAND [SSUES OF THE WAR. 19 

if we fail here, and above ua darkness gathers, what 
star of hope remains in the whole horizon? 
I Baid rightly, then, thai in this straggle we stand 

for the world, we represent the world. For the world 
freedom Hvt s or dies here and now ! 

Now mark this. We came near losing this priceless 
boon, and therefore I speak oi recovering it. The slave 
power was fearfully encroaching upon our boasted lib- 
erty. Free speech was denied in one half of onr terri- 
tory — just as fully so as in any part of the globe — and 
was imperilled in the other half; and the press was in 
the same condition. The " higher law " was scoffed at 
in the United States Senate, and by the press, and even 
in the pulpit : and for the sake of union the infamous 
"Fugitive Slave" Bill was enacted, which forbade any 
one from practising the Christian duty of giving food 
and raiment and shelter to the fleeing bondman. The 
Supreme Court, too, had ruled the negro had no rights : 
and it was about to be decreed that slaves could be 
held in any Staff , temper a/ril/y^ (while passing through 
it,) which was virtually conceding every thing; for if 
held by law one day, why not one month, or one year \ 
Indeed, it was the boast of the Southern oligarchs 
that they would yet call the roll of their slaves under 
the shadow of Bunker Hill. 

This was our condition. 'Die commerce, the patriot- 
ism, the politics, the trade, fche government, the judiciary, 
and the very religion of the land were infected with fche 
spreading corruption : — yea, were under fche domination 
of this organized iniquity. We were like Laocoon in 
fche Vatican at Koine: 'A nobleman; on either side a 
lovely Son; but all, father and sons, grasped in the coils 
of a many times enfolding serpent, whose tightening hold 
not their utmost strength can resist, and with agonized 
face Laocoon looking up, as if his anguish said : ' Only 



f 



20 THE VALLEY OF ACHOR A DOOK OF HOPE : 

the gods can save me, whose hate I have offended.' ' 

Image of ourselves ! the central Head with its cluster- 
ing States, beautiful to behold, but twining around the 
whole the folds of the gigantic serpent, Slavery. 

Dark days were those to the friends of freedom and 
justice ! Some of us remember how we came to- 
gether at the call of another President for formal 
thanksgiving, but could not tell whether our hallelu- 
jahs were looked upon by God as gratulations over 
a growing youth, or as funeral wails over smitten and 
departed glories ! 

But God's ways are not man's ways. "We recov- 
ered the almost lost jewel of freedom in a way we 
never dreamed of; and might henceforth hold it with 
a firmer grasp and exalt it to a higher position. 
Wonderfully apt as illustrative of its fate are the 
lines of Trench : 

" A dew-drop, falling on the ocean wave, 
Exclaimed in fear — 'I perish in this -rave ;' 
But, in a shell received, that drop of dew, 
Unto a pearl of marvellous beauty grew; 
And, happy now, the grace did magnify 
Which thrust it forth — as it had feared — to die ; 
Until again, ' I perish quite,' it said. 
Torn by rude diver from its ocean bed ; 
unbelieving! — so it came to gleam, 
Chief jewel in a monarch's diadem ! " 

The rebellion fairly uncovered the institution which 
gave it birth, and made it vulnerable to Liberty's 
deadliest blows. Before, it was safe under local law 
and Federal protection. The slave-dealers were in- 
trenched behind the bulwark of the Constitution; but 
now, by their own acts, it became constitutional to at- 
tack their system; nay, since it was the right arm of 
fcheirpower, it was impossible to maintain the integrity 
of that very Constitution, excepl by striking with all 



OR, THE GRAND ISSUES OF T1IK WAII. 21 

the nation's might at that institution itself It 1"-. 
came a military necessity to kill the monster in order 
to save the life of the victim. And the work of death 
to the former and deliverance to the latter is being 
rapidly done. Some few complain and demur, but 
still, as some one says : 

" The mower moves on, though the adder may writhe, 
And the copper-head curl round the blade of the scythe." 

And every day are men of whatever political antece- 
dent* and former beliefs, coming to the resolute convic- 
tion, that there shall be no more dodging real issues, 
no more postponing and rolling over upon our children 
questions that are vital to liberty; but that Blavery 
must be crushed^ so as to make a clean sweep of the 
cause of disturbance. Said a large slave-owner from 
Louisiana, on a recent visit to New- York : "I speak for 
myself, and for the majority of loyal slaveholders in my 
State, when I say I want no more of slavery. It 
isn't profitable, and it keeps up a quarrel. I had 
rather that every inch of territory were trodden over by 
the bloody hoof of war, than that one slave should be 
left when it is ended." This is fast becoming the senti- 
ment of all true patriots. The stern operator is at 
work. Away with all political nostrums to ease the 
patient! The cancer must and shall be cut out ! This 
continent shall be dedicated to liberty. Our loins are 
girded; our hearts are fixed; OUT swords are drawn, 
and we will rest with nothing shori of the freeing, 
by direct or indirect means, in the midsl of the fiery 
struggle, or as close upon it, of every -lave in our whole 
domain! And we have lull faith in its accomplish- 
ment; and this because of the righteous and mighty 
Grod above as, and the underlying principle in this 
" irrepressible conflict." 



22 THE VALLEY of ACHOB A DOOB OF HOPE ', 



" fan ye burn a truth in the martyr-fire? 
i Ian ye chain a thought in a dungeon dire? — 
I >r stay the soul as it soars away, 
Tn its glorious flight from its mouldering clay ''. 
The truth that liveth. the thoughts that go, 
The spirit ascending, all answer — No." 



And there are truths, there are thoughts in this strug- 
gle — and so it will succeed. 

I fappy day of the Nation's renovation ! O fellow- 
workers, I congratulate you upon its coming in our 
time ! I see it ! I see it ! The war successfully ended ; 
the bondman everywhere a freeman; the degraded 
white man everywhere educated and ennobled; the 
diverse elements in the national composition fused and 
welded inseparably together; local jealousies and 
animosities at an end ; treason and traitors expelled 
from the country ; the heresy of state sovereignty and 
secession killed; loyalty and patriotism a life in the 
heart's core of every inhabitant ; the extremities of the 
country drawn into a closer relationship; its physical 
resources developed ; a school-house and church in every 
district; the people taking the highest type of civil- 
ization, — intelligent, God-fearing, liberty-loving, self- 
governed, and bound together in one tender and beau- 
tiful brotherhood ; our broad, unoccupied acres South 
and West furnishing homes to millions of exiles and 
strangers and fellow-countrymen ; our soldiers resuming 
the peaceful pursuits of industry, and infiltrating with 
their ideas and influence the territories whose rebellion 
they have subdued ; our mighty streams lined with thriv- 
ing <itic>, and the seas dotted all over with our white- 
winged fleets of commerce, and our example giving 
cheer and hope to each struggling nationality on the 
globe, and, in the end, sending a purer current through 
all the avenues of its rejuvenated life ! 



OR, THE GRAND ISSUES OF THE WAR. 23 

Men and brethren, has not our Valley of Achor be- 
come a door of hope? Have we not something to be 
thankful for I Is it not meet thai we, like Israel, a1 
length, in their valley of trouble, " Sing here, as in the 

days of our youth, as in the day thai we came up oul 
of* Egypt?" 

I am mindful of what has been endured. All have 
been incommoded. Some have suffered, sorely suffered. 
Multitudes have fallen, and multitudes are sick or 
maimed for life. Ay, this is the sad part of it! 
Graves have been opened in this valley. There are 
vacant chairs by festive boards to-day. And some of 
you have come up here with hearts pained with appre- 
hension, or breaking with grief from the death of 
father, or son, or husband, or brother, or lover. 

But I trust that even you will be able to kiss the 
rod, and say : 

"If, for the age to come, this hour 
Of trial hath vicarious power, 
And, blest by Thee, our present pain 
Be Liberty's eternal gain, 
Thy will be doru : "' 

and that we all will lose sight of our sorrows in our 
more numerous blessings. 

Let, then, thanksgiving ascend from every heart and 
every tongue. Let us bless God that he has afflicted 
us. Let us bless him for the war, if only by it these 
ends could be gained. Let us bless him that it did 
not come to an earlier and disastrous close, bu1 that it 
lasts so long as the sin-canker remain-. Let us bless 
him for so good a President: whose Love of liberty, 
coupled with a sacred regard for his oath; whose sin- 
gleness of purpose and sterling integrity ; whose quick 
common sense and wonderful foresight; whose care- 
fulness to advance and tenacity in holding a position 



2-i THE VALLEY OF ACIIOR A DOOR OR nOPE ; 

once taken ; and whose skill in steering clear of fac- 
tions and uniting all classes in his support, bid fair to 
place the name of Abraham Lincoln beside that of 
George Washington. Let us bless God for the able 
civil and military leaders the crisis has produced. Let 
us bless him for our 1 nave soldiers, so prompt to hurl 
themselves into the deadly breach. Let us bless him 
for peace with foreign powers, and the tokens of its 
continuance. Let us bless him for our recent brilliant 
victories in the field, and the not less important vic- 
tories in freedom's behalf at the ballot-box. 

And, passing now from these causes of gladness, I 
call on you to praise him for the mercies of the year, of 
which we have all been recipients. Praise him for the 
bounties of his providence, from which all have been 
fed. Praise him for the health vouchsafed so generally 
to the people. Praise him for the success of all branch- 
es of industry, so that none have been compelled to be 
idle. Praise him for his beautiful light, and the rain- 
drops, and the pure air of heaven. Praise him for 
your quiet homes, and your social and religious enjoy- 
ments. Praise him for his Bible, and his Sabbath, and 
his dear Son, our Saviour ! Praise him that he for- 
giveth our sins and blotteth out all our iniquities. 
Praise him for all present good, and for all the precious 
ho]^es of good to come. Yea, praise him ! Praise him, 
for He is good, and his mercy endureth forever ! And 
let us all now stand up together and unite in our dox- 
ology of praise : 

" Praise God from whom all Mowings flow ; 
Praise him all creatures here below; 
Praise him above, ye heavenly host ; 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 



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